Garcia rallies No. 12 South Carolina

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia (5) fires off a pass during an NCAA college football game against East Carolina in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. South Carolina defeated East Carolina 56-37. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
— AP

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia (5) fires off a pass during an NCAA college football game against East Carolina in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. South Carolina defeated East Carolina 56-37. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
/ AP

CHARLOTTE, N.C. 
Stephen Garcia succeeded coming off the bench for South Carolina. Getting off coach Steve Spurrier's short leash is another matter.

Garcia ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to rally the 12th-ranked Gamecocks past East Carolina 56-37 on Saturday after sitting out the first quarter and South Carolina trailing 17-0.

"I don't know if this was my best game as a Gamecock, but we needed this win, for sure," the fifth-year senior said, "especially for us to come back and win after that first quarter."

The performance earned Garcia back his starting job, which he had the previous 28 games before this, when South Carolina opens the Southeastern Conference season at Georgia. But it didn't earn him too much praise from Spurrier, famously hard on his quarterbacks.

Spurrier didn't second guess his choice of starting sophomore Connor Shaw and expected Garcia to play better than he did against the Pirates.

No game ball for Garcia from the Ball Coach.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. When he throws for about 300 yards and brings us down the field scoring at the end of the game,'" Spurrier said. "He played well. But hopefully, he'll have a big, big game."

Some might say Garcia's had several through the years, including his three-touchdown, 17-of-20 showing last season in a 35-21 upset of top-ranked Alabama. Spurrier has crowed often of last year's milestone of beating Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida all in the same season - and all with Garcia as starter.

"The offense just responded to Stephen better," said Ace Sanders, who caught Garcia's lone touchdown pass.

Marcus Lattimore added 112 yards rushing and three TDs.

Garcia was the steadying hand after a butter-fingers first quarter that featured three Gamecocks fumbles, two of which led to East Carolina scores. With Garcia back under center, the offense started to click and South Carolina took control of the season opener.

Garcia had a 32-yard touchdown run his first series and when Lattimore finished the Gamecocks next drive with a 4-yard scoring run, South Carolina fans at Bank of America Stadium began chanting Garcia's name in celebration.

Spurrier said Garcia would start the Gamecocks' Southeastern Conference opener at Georgia next week. "Yeah, he's back in the box," the coach said.

Dominique Davis threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns for the Pirates, but when South Carolina wasn't stopping itself, the Pirates had no answers. The Gamecocks outscored ECU 42-13 in second half.

Garcia opened the second half with a with a 3-yard TD pass to Sanders and put the Gamecocks ahead for good moments later, 28-24, with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Garcia threw for 3,059 yards and 20 TDs last year and was a big reason the team played in the Southeastern Conference title game as Eastern Division champs. But Garcia was suspended twice this spring, upping his career total to five at South Carolina, something that's irked Spurrier to no end.

So the Gamecocks coach put the ball in Shaw's hands, saying the sophomore who'd thrown just 33 college passes had outperformed Garcia throughout the summer.